The Secret
by Courtney777
Summary: What if Snake was really a girl on the run from her parents? What if Ace was still in love with Buttercup? What if the world just got turned upside down? Warnings: Ace/girlSnake, OC/OC Slash, Anorexia, Cutting, Coarse Language, mentioned Billy/girlArturo
1. Chapter 1

(This is the first chapter for The Secret. I'm redoing it all this spring/summer, so expect better from me from future chapters. This is the re-edited, new version of The Secret.

Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did. I do however, own Snake's new alter ego, Sarah Lynn Mason.

Warning: Snake is a girl in this. Arturo is a girl in this. Ace is in love with Buttercup for now. There may be cutting, gory violence, and overall darkness in the future chapters. This story will probably have a happy ending, actually, I'll probably let you choose when we get to that point.

Side Notes: I'm a 9th grader in High school. Don't judge me if I don't update fast enough, passing my classes are slightly more important than updating. Summertime I will have no excuse, but things happen.

Enjoy the story.)

* * *

_"You are nothing without us! You're just our play thing, to play with, and sell to the neighbor kid when we get bored!"_

_That's all I've been told, ever since I could remember, and now…now I know it's true. My name is Sarah Lynn Mason, and I need help, and fast. Maybe I should start from the beginning. When this all started…what I met the man who unknowingly destroyed me, the one man who broke me. His name was Ace, Ace Copular._

Sarah coughed as the cold night air hit her lungs, but she continued to run. Her legs ached from it, and she was tired, but she couldn't stop, not now, not ever. If she was to, they would find her, and she'd be forced back home. She would rather die than consider that possibility, and if she didn't find a place to stay soon, the cold would kill her.

The few people still up and about the downtown area noticed her green skin, and quickly scattered away. What she didn't know was the reason why, but at this point, she really didn't care.

"Hey, kid! Wait up!" she heard someone call her, and she didn't stop, quickly turning the corner, and quickening her pace down the cracked sidewalks. She found herself at a dead end, and turned, seeing a small girl appear.

"…hi?"

"_Amigo_, why did you run?" the tiny person asked, looking up at them. "I just wanted a word, _señor_."

_Señor. Señor?_ That was Spanish for mister wasn't it? She wasn't male, so that didn't even make sense! She glanced down at herself, and suddenly realized why. She had on baggy clothes, and she was pretty flat-chested for her age. She crossed her arms, and looked down at her.

"What did you want?" she asked, and the girl must have thought she was a guy with a high voice, because she merely smiled and replied.

"I wanted your name. We haven't seen you around here before."

"We?"

"_Sí_, we, us, a group of people."

Sarah looked down that way, and noticed three figures standing at the alley way entrance. It was too dark to see any features of the group.

"So what's your name?"

"Huh?"

"C_ómo__ te llamas_?"

"I…I don't speak Spanish."

"You'll learn. What's your name?" she repeated.

Sarah thought, and looked at the group once more. What did they want with her? What had attracted them to her? Suddenly a car flashed by, headlights shining on them temporarily, and she noticed the one feature they all had. Every single one of them, from the small girl in front of her to the huge guy with orange hair, were varying shades of green.

She would have screamed, but for once, she felt comforted. She wasn't alone in the world; she wasn't the only green freak.

"So, do you want to join us?" Arturo asked, and Sarah realized she'd zoned out once more. She smiled weakly.

"But I haven't given you my name yet…"

"It's okay. You would have lied anyways. We all do at first. We'll just call you Snake. Anyways, do you want to join us?"

"What am I joining again?"

"The Gangreen Gang."

Was it worth it to join them? Was it safe for them to have a wanted girl in their gang? Was it safe for her to join it? Was anything good in this world really safe? She remembered years ago, being told that she needed to take more chances, that she needed to leap before she looked for once.

And for once, she agreed with them. And she leapt.

"Yeah. I'll join."

"Great. Let's introduce you to everyone. _Hola chicos! Venga a conocer el nuevo __chico!_"

The boys shuffled over, and Sarah looked at them, biting her lip slightly. The tallest one, Billy, practically swept her off her feet, hugging her in the air, and chanting something along the lines of 'a new buddy for Billy!', while the small girl coaxed him to put the new recruit down.

Once on her feet, the smallest of the boys made a noise similar to horse. She waved timidly at him while Arturo called out 'yuck Grubber, you got spit on him!' and turned to the last one. He was taller than her, barely by an inch, and he had on sunglasses. He looked over her, and then back at Arturo.

"We'll see if he can handle the initiation. If not, you owe me money, and he gets put back on the streets."

"Yes boss." The girl identified as Arturo nodded.

Sarah made a mental list.

The huge guy with orange hair's name was Billy. He seemed to be the child of the group, though he looked like he was the strongest.

The small girl, who had approached her first, was named Arturo. She seemed to hail from either Mexico or Spain, Sarah really couldn't tell, but she knew that this girl was bilingual.

The slightly deformed one who was talking using noises and not words, was named Grubber. She had nothing else to really say about him.

The last one was the one who interested her the most. She didn't know his name yet, but she knew he was the boss of this gang, and he showed it through his expression and positioning. He seemed to emit arrogance, and he had a right to. Sarah admitted that now she was closer, that he was handsome, and he knew it.

"I'll show the boy home Ace." Arturo said softly as he looked away. She knew that look, and it called for booze and the superhero girl uptown.

"Thanks." The man replied turning, and walking towards the more happy part of the city.

Sarah sent her a questioning look, and Arturo replied. "Just leave it for now. If anyone should tell you that story, it should be him. Not us." She sighed, for a moment going solemn, before turning to her.

"Well come on then Snake. Let me show you the way home."

* * *

(Next update will be tomorrow most likely. I'm looking for a beta as well, so if you see any mistakes what-so-ever, you just post it in the comments, or PM me if it's really embarrassing :)

Love you guys,

Courtney, the not so beautiful writer.)


	2. Chapter 2

(Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did.

Warning: Snake is a girl in this. Arturo is a girl in this. Ace is in love with Buttercup for now. There may be cutting, gory violence, and overall darkness in the future chapters. This story will probably have a happy ending, actually, I'll probably let you choose when we get to that point.

Side Notes: I'd like to thank my dad for letting me use his computer charger, or else this wouldn't have gotten done. This chapter was difficult to redo, I didn't know where to start, or what to add. After a few weeks of leaving it alone, I was finally able to fix it up. I hope you like it.)

* * *

"You need more practice." Ace growled, letting her into the apartment. "I've never seen someone so good at one thing, and so fucking useless at something else."

"I'm trying, I swear!"

"See, that's the issue, your trying, and you still suck! Go shower Ingleberry, I want to see you tomorrow morning, six sharp, running laps around Townsville."

The shower was her best friend at this point. It could massage her aching muscles into a relaxed state, and allow her to collect her thoughts.

Arturo dealt business with the man who owned the apartment complex, telling him 'if you let us stay here, we'll make sure no-one touches this place'. Ace held down a job at a tattoo place not too far away, and Billy and Grubber sold drugs on the streets.

Meanwhile, Sarah was put through initiation, and for once in her life, she found herself somewhat good at something. 'Snake' could run quickly, charm 'his' way into any building, and was amazing at stealing cigarettes and such from gas stations, and even Ace admitted it. However, Sarah's new alter ego had one big fault; it couldn't have the 'I don't give a damn' attitude necessary to mug people.

So Ace pretty much pushed her harder than he had anyone else in the group. Dozens of laps around the city limits, hundreds of pushups and sit-ups, and with next to no sleep several lower class robberies could become very difficult to do. He'd pushed it all into three days, leaving her aching and desperate for sleep.

Mugging was for some reason, wasn't being ignored like he ignored the other's faults. She thought maybe Ace did have somewhat of a heart, even if he didn't want to show it to her. He admitted that Arturo didn't like selling drugs, Billy was scared of heights, and Grubber couldn't steal to save his life, so he didn't make them do it, but she was forced to learn to mug for some reason.

The water began to run cold, and she stepped out of the shower, turning off the water, and toweling off. She ran a hand over herself, noticing she was still flat, and didn't have much of a shape at all. Something she would have complained about a week ago was helping to keep her hidden now. She dressed in guy's clothing, and left the bathroom.

She was currently sharing a bedroom with Arturo until further notice, so she retreated there, feeling pretty safe. Apparently, everyone shared with Arturo until Ace deemed them 'Fine, they can stay' worthy, and then they'd get their own room.

Sarah collapsed onto the bed, closing her eyes.

The young Spanish girl crossed her arms, chuckling. "He's harsh on you, right?"

"Very, was he this harsh on you?"

"He doesn't make girls go through initiation. He leaves that to the female members of the gang, aka, me."

Sarah almost laughed from the irony. Ace was training a girl, and didn't even know it. She weighed the cons and pros of telling him her gender, and eventually decided it wasn't worth it. She wanted to stay hidden from her family, and a bit of work had never killed anyone…she hoped.

The next thing she remembered was falling asleep, comforted by the bed and the sheets.

"Snake, get your wake your ass up!" Sarah heard from the doorway. "Ace started another fight with the Powerpuffs!"

The girl groaned, sitting up, and leaving after throwing on some shoes. Even though her tennis shoes were mocked for being 'girly' by the gang, they fit her well, and they allowed her to keep up with the rest of the main gang.

By the time they were there, the fight was already full fledged and deadly. She recognized the three girls from the news, the red haired one, Blossom, the blonde, Bubbles, the raven haired, Buttercup. Each member of the gang was targeted by one of the superhero trio, and of course, Sarah got the worst of the three, Buttercup Utonium.

The punches came hard and fast, and she couldn't even fight back. She barely knew how to fight a normal human, let alone a proclaimed superhero.

The Powerpuffs left them laying there on the floor, looking up at the night sky, brutally beaten to the core. Ace was looking for anything, anyone, to blame, and his eyes landed on the newest recruit, Sarah.

"You." He growled, walking over slowly, his fists clenched into weapons. "You cost us this! We would have won if it wasn't for you!"

Sarah tried to interrupt, but was shut up by a look by Arturo. They all have had Ace's anger directed them at one time.

"We would have won if you'd just been stronger! If you'd just been better, this wouldn't be happening." He warned, grabbing Sarah's shirt, and pulling her up off the floor. "This is gonna hurt Ingleberry."

Then his fist met her nose, and blood quickly soaked her white t-shirt. He threw her against one of the walls, and his foot connected to her ribs repeatedly, breaking one of them, and leaving bruises covering her chest and stomach.

Ace stalked towards the sidewalk, leaving the gang in the alleyway, and stood at the entrance a moment. "You're weak Ingleberry, and nothing will ever change that."

Sarah passed out into welcomed unconsciousness.

(End)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did. Janice belongs to me. Sev belongs to **TacticianZephine**.

Warning: Gender Changes (aka, guy is turned into a girl for the story, vice versa). Future Minor Character Slash (girl/girl, guy/guy). Self Harm, Possible Explicit Violence. Mentioned Buttercup/Ace. Powerpuff Girls are in their teens.

Side Notes: I'd like to thank my dad for letting me use his computer charger, or else this wouldn't have gotten done.)

* * *

Sarah woke up hours later, in a darker than black alleyway, her head pounding, with blood coating her fingers. She tried to stand up, and crumpled over in pain, her arms circling her ribs. A smirking figure in the corner watched her, then walked over to see who the kid was.

"You're a Green aren't you?"

"Yeah?" she managed, barely comprehensible from the beating.

Her injuries quickly got worse, and she found herself unable to even move without severe pain as the man left. He was even harsher than Ace had been, and the man's shoes were steel tipped, leaving even darker bruises than before. She found herself wishing she'd said no, that she wasn't a Green.

"I should have just killed you, but for some reason, I like you. If you ever get sick of them, come find me. Name's Vic, I lead the Red Riots."

He left her there as well, and she wondered if everyone left her there on purpose, and why they did. Her last thoughts before she slipped into darkness were 'I'll just close my eyes ten minutes…'

Sarah woke up in the early morning light, being carried by warm arms, and hearing voices.

"I think we should take him to a hospital, Ace…" a loud female voice begged. "He looks real beat up, do you think a Red got a hold of him?"

"Most likely."

"What about the hospital? At least get someone to look him over…"

"No, he'll be awake soon. Go on home Arturo. I'll see you tommorow" A soft voice sighed, running a hand over Sarah's cheek. "I'll get Janice to take a look at him. She's a pretty good doctor, considering she's never gone to medical school."

"You sure it's okay to leave him at your place?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Some of my pancakes will get him up and running in no time."

"I owe you one."

"You owe me so many ones that you should exchange them for hundreds." She teased, causing Ace to roll his eyes. "Don't worry about him."

"Do I look worried?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well I'm not."

"Why, too busy worrying about Buttercup? She's just using you Ace. She wants to make her daddy angry, and she's using the bad boy to do it."

"Sev…"

"Don't Sev me, she's just going to break your heart Ace. Oh, that's right, you don't have one." She said mockingly.

"Sev."

That was her final warning, and she knew it. The girl sighed. "This is our stop. Just put her in the guest bedroom."

Sarah was laid into the softest bed she'd slept in a long time. She fell asleep, listening to the pitter patter of rain starting to pour, and the soft arguing from the living room. A black haired girl woke her up a few hours later, finishing cleaning Sarah up, and noticed.

"Hey." She greeted, "I'm Janice, Ace's little sister. It's nice to meet you, Snake."

"Um, hey. So…you're the doctor girl I heard about?"

"I'm not a doctor, I just know how to use a first aid kit, and they don't. Since you asked me a question, let me ask you one."

"Okay?"

"How long have you been lying about your gender?"

Sarah almost jumped to her feet, but Janice kept her pinned to the bed. Surprisingly, the petite girl was strong, possibly stronger than Billy even was, and she smiled. "You didn't answer me yet."

"Three, make that four, days."

"Has Arturo been taking care of you?"

"She doesn't know either."

"Well then, that's not good. I'm sure Ace is determined to train you till you die of exhaustion, right? If Sev and I had gotten to train you, it would have been slightly easier." She sighed, letting go of the girl. "Sev already knows."

"Was that the cause of the argument I heard bits and pieces of earlier?"

"In the kitchen? No, that was something very different. I wasn't involved in that one, except as a peacemaker." Janice replied, and stood up. "Come on, I'll help you to the kitchen, Sev is in there making pancakes."

What she heard earlier was true, Sev's pancakes were legendary. They could wake you up and leave you craving more. In the twenty minutes breakfast time lasted, she learned a lot about the two girls.

Janice took after her mother, Ace's step-mother, Sedusa, and it showed; black hair, pale skin, red lips, and a figure that could well, seduce people. All except her eyes, they were a dark purple-blue color, that 'I got them from my grandmother' apparently.

Sev had short red hair, with some blue highlights that, as Sarah was informed, glowed in the dark. She was also pale, but had a little more color to her, and was abnormally thin. She had a few tattoos covering her arms, stomach, legs, and one on her back. If asked, none were mistakes.

"So…" Sarah finally got to the point. "Are you gonna tell the gang?"

"'bout what?" Sev asked, still reading the newspaper comics, and sipping a coffee.

"About me being a girl."

"I don't see a point in it. It's not like you can change it I guess. But they take girls in the gang you know? It's not a guy only gang. I don't see the point in lying."

Sarah tried to shrug it off, but Janice smiled. "Well, actually, we're blackmailing you. You're going to a club with us as soon as those ribs get healed up, as a girl, with one of the guys from the gang."

"Which guy?"

"Just Ace."

"Ace? Ace! No, I can't! He'll find out! I'll be dead! I'll be-"

"Calm down, he won't know. He's pretty oblivious." Sev sighed, somewhat bitterly. "He won't figure out that you aren't my cousin from Citiesville."

Janice smiled weakly at her. "Well, we're going to dress you up in some of our clothes, and you'll have fun as a girl for once. Is it that big of a deal?"

"…I guess not." Sarah sighed softly.

Sarah ran a hand over her bandaged chest, and sighed. "So how long until these heal, and I'm forced to go clubbing?"

"About a month and a half I'd say. Two at the most. They're barely fractured."

"How do you know that?"

Janice shrugged. "You seem to be breathing pretty okay, and we're taking you to a doctor today just to make sure."

"Besides, Janice is magic; she always knows what's wrong with people." Sev added, slightly proud.

Said girl blushed pink, and stood up to do the dishes. Four hours later, Sarah found out she had one fractured rib, two bruised, and Janice was right, it'd take about six weeks to heal. On the way home, looking at Janice, she asked a question that had been on her mind since this morning.

"…don't you do anything wrong?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you ever mess something up? Are you just perfect or something?"

"…I really don't feel like I know you enough to tell you what's wrong with me." The girl sighed softly.

"Why not?"

"It's just personal."

Sarah rolled her eyes at the thought. Everything was personal in this gang.

(End)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did. Janice belongs to me. Sev belongs to **TacticianZephine**.

Warning: Gender Changes (aka, guy is turned into a girl for the story, vice versa). Future Minor Character Slash (girl/girl, guy/guy). Self Harm, Possible Explicit Violence. Mentioned Buttercup/Ace. Powerpuff Girls are in their teens.

Side Notes: I'd like to thank my dad for letting me use his computer charger, or else this wouldn't have gotten done.)

* * *

Sarah found herself in the girl's apartment six weeks later, cursing the fact that her ribs had healed. Janice looked over the girl, and sighed. "She really has no form does she?"

"Not any that I can see." Sev sighed, running a hand over Sarah's curves, or lack of them. "How are we going to turn this into anything?"

"Well, she does have some cleavage, they're just A-Cup cleavage." Janice replied thoughtfully. "So maybe we can shove her in a corset and pray for the best?"

"What dress size do you where?" Sev demanded.

"Um…a 12?"

"She's not going to fit me or you Janice."

"Maybe me by a long shot." Janice offered. "But not you, maybe some of your old clothes, before you went on the starvation diet?"

"Shut up." She muttered in annoyance.

Suddenly it clicked for Sarah. The reason Sev was so tiny, was because she was anorexic, possibly the same for Janice. Actually, glancing over Janice, she looked like she was a size 8, maybe 6 even, and she was pretty tall. Janice glanced over at Sarah, and laughed. "I know what your thinking, that I'm anorexic too, right?"

Sarah nodded shyly.

"It's Sedusa's blood in me." She replied, putting her hands on her hip. "That puts me at a size 6. Sev's a size 2 or 4. She used to be a size 10 though, so let's see if we can find something, shall we?"

Sarah was taken to Sev's room, looking around curiously. Dolls littered the room, looking creepy, and posters covered the walls; Transformers, several musicals, a couple of movies, it seemed endless. She couldn't even see the walls! A corset was tossed on the bed, followed by a dress.

"Clothes off." Sev demanded, digging through a box in the closet, and throwing underwear at her as well. "Janice, do I need to make you leave the room?"

Janice pouted, crossing her arms. "So what if I like girls, I have no attraction to her. Besides, it's not like she doesn't have something I see everyday."

"Fine. Lace up the corset. I'll try to find shoes. What size?"

"Seven and a half." Sarah replied timidly.

"Wow Janice, she actually comes really close to your size." Sev replied, grabbing a pair of shoes by her bed. "These are Janice's, somehow, her stuff end up in my room all the time."

"I can't wear these!"

"What?"

"They're like eight inches high!"

"They're four, honey." Janice added, putting the corset on her. "Breath in and hold."

She did so, and the breath was knocked out of her as the corset started to be laced. By the time the girl was done, Sarah had a figure, and also had trouble breathing. Sev smirked. "You get used to it rather quickly. Don't even complain."

The dress was shimmied over her, and the heels put on. In the mirror, Sarah saw someone she thought she never would, a girl that could easily fit in with Janice and Sev. Janice proceeded to change into a green skirt with a black tube top, and black tennis shoes. Sev was the odd one out, in black leather pants that hugged her curves, and a blue shirt that matched her highlights.

"We're going to the Vampire's Coffin!" Janice cheered happily, and Sev even managed a smile at Janice's enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I think we turned her into a girl." She agreed, leaning against the wall. "Now, I think we need to talk about the one rule we have here."

"Hm?" Sarah asked, still dazed from her transformation.

"You can't touch Ace. He's mine."

Sarah looked confused, but nodded, and Janice gave her a look of 'I'll explain later, just don't ask any questions'. Twenty minutes later, walking towards the park where they were meeting Ace and Sev, who had left earlier, Janice explained.

"Sev's been in love with Ace for as long as I can remember honestly." She started. "But Ace doesn't want to date her, marry her, or anything really. I think it's because he's so caught up on…well, never mind that. So Sev tells every girl that Ace is hers, even though he isn't. I have a feeling, he never will be."

"But…but that'll break her won't it?"

"Sev's a pretty strong girl, but yes, it will. She won't show it at first or really around anyone except me maybe, but she'll be hurt." Janice sighed, looking up at the sky. "She'll take it out on those around her, mainly me, but I'm used to it."

"…you are?"

"She doesn't mean to, but…she does." Janice replied, not even a trace of bitterness in her voice. "I guess that's how it's supposed to be."

Sarah looked at the girl who had a trace of tears in her eyes, and watched as the girl collected herself as they neared the park. She grabbed Janice's wrist, and pulled her back gently, stopping her. The girl wouldn't look at her.

"You love her, don't you?" she asked gently.

"Always have."

"But…she loves your brother."

"I know she does. But I'll be here for her when she decides she needs me. I know she'll probably never fall for me, but, I'll still be here to comfort her, and get her back on her feet."

Janice pulled her arm away, and waved to Sev, who finally noticed the two, and had sent a nod. Janice put on the brightest smile, and walked over to her, with her hands in the pockets of her skirt.

Watching her walk away, Sarah decided that the girl deserved The Actress of the Year Award.

"The beat here's totally sick!" Janice laughed, twirling slightly. "Come on Sev, dance with me!"

Sev rolled her eyes at her friend, but nodded, smiling slightly. The two went off to the dance floor, leaving Ace with Sarah. She looked up at the green skinned man, and followed him to the bar. He sat down, ordering an Absolute Suicide shot, and looking at her.

"So your Sev's cousin?"

"Yeah." She replied, sitting down.

"You look nothing like her."

She shrugged slightly in response, watching him down it and order another.

"So how old are you?"

"Seventeen." She answered truthfully, and he chuckled.

"You're kind of young to be out partying with the big girls."

"Janice is my age, right?"

"No, she's twenty-three in about half a year." He replied, looking down at her. "Gods, you're so young. What are you even doing hanging out with them?"

"I'm old enough." She replied defensively.

"If you're young enough to have to say that, you shouldn't even be near them. They're more dangerous than I am, and I'm pretty badass."

"What do you mean?"

"Janice does heroin," He told her bluntly. "Sev's anorexic, they're not the best role models in the world.

"Janice is a…druggie?"

"…Kinda. You've got the right idea at least. She hits up every time her heart gets shattered, which happens a lot thanks to that girl she's dancing with."

Sarah looked at him quietly, realizing that maybe this guy she'd been judging without even realizing it, wasn't really that cruel. He had a heart. She turned to where his gaze was, where Janice and Sev where grinding up on each other, and breaking guy's hearts around them. It seemed like a movie moment, and honestly, she couldn't take looking at it much longer.

She turned back to the bartender, and Ace sighed. "Can you pretend your not a minor for a few minutes, long enough to dance with me, kid?"

She nodded, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the dance floor. Sarah, looking around, copied the movements of the girls around her, and Ace laughed, grabbing her hips with his hands, and moved them for her. "Like this." He told her, and she copied.

By the end of the night, Ace was drunk enough not to care how old she was. "Sarah?" he slurred slightly, causing her to look up at him, also somewhat tipsy from the few drinks she had. "Yeah?"

She was interrupted by a rough kiss from him.

(End)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did. Janice belongs to me. Sev belongs to TacticianZephine.**

**Warning: Gender Changes (aka, guy is turned into a girl for the story, vice versa). Future Minor Character Slash (girl/girl, guy/guy). Self Harm, Possible Explicit Violence. Mentioned Buttercup/Ace. Powerpuff Girls are in their teens.**

**Side Notes: I'd like to thank my dad for letting me use his computer charger, or else this wouldn't have gotten done.)**

* * *

"Get the hell out of bed." Janice sighed, watching Sev from the doorway. "This is not okay, not okay at all. What the hell were you thinking last night?"

"Go away Copular! I'm staying in bed all day!" the girl groaned, hiding under the security of the black sheets.

"Well too bad, because we're talking!" Janice demanded. "What were you thinking last night? You got drunk, and you're not even old enough to be drinking Miss Twenty-one in ten months! And over my brother of all people! He's not worth it!"

"You have no clue how badly it hurts! To know that he picked that whore over me!" Sev screamed, tears flooding her eyes.

"Yeah, I do actually! I have to deal with it everyday you fawn over him!"

The room went silent, the Sev looking at Janice in disbelief, with Janice looking away disgusted. What she said couldn't be taken back, and they both knew it would never be the same between them. Janice sighed, sitting down on the bed.

"Alright then, talk. Tell me why you were so upset you got completely wasted, and why I shouldn't force you to go to work today as punishment."

_The music was blaring, the lights were flashing, and Sev was looking for Ace. So she'd had a drink or two, which made her a lot more confident, which meant she was going to finally tell him. That she was going to tell him how much she loved him. Sev watched quietly; as Ace made out with an equally drunk Sarah, and felt her anger boil over. She stormed over to him, and started yelling, calling him a cheating bastard and other stuff._

_"Cheating? I never dated you Sev!" Ace argued back just as pissed._

_"Well-"_

_"And I never loved you either!"_

_That caused her to go silent. She looked down at her shoes, her hair hiding her face, and her fist clenching up._

_"Fuck. Damn it Sev. I didn't mean it like tha-" he started, and was quickly introduced to Sev's famous and painful right hook._

_She turned, and walked towards the bar, buying the entire whiskey bottle, and walking home drinking it straight._

"Alright." Janice relented "You don't have to go to work today, but you better be prepared for it tomorrow. And I'm expecting you to talk to Sarah about this, it's obvious there's some issues that need sorted out."

"No fucking duh, and what are you, my mother?"

"Somebody has to be." Janice replied quietly, standing up, and leaving the room.

Sarah woke up in the middle of a bathroom, looking around confused. She recognized this place from somewhere, broken tiles, a slightly cracked mirror, a blue bathtub with white wallpaper…where did she know this place from? And what happened last night? She couldn't honestly remember. Her dress was tossed unbuttoned, and her bra was missing, but she still had on her panties, and the only place she was sore was her neck from sleeping on the floor all night.

The bra was found on the door of the bathroom, and she quickly put it on.

She got to her feet, stumbling slightly, and realizing she was missing a shoe. She left the bathroom, probably looking worse than when she went in, and looked around. Suddenly it hit her. She was at the gang's apartment, and she was screwed. She desperately thought, and an idea came to her. She knew where Janice's place was, not even five minutes away, she'd go there.

The walk over was known as the walk of shame, well, almost. Her dress, no matter what, was torn in places, and she scolded herself for not changing into her alter ego's clothing before leaving the apartment. She got to the forth floor of the building, and knocked on the door, seeing Janice answer it.

"Well, there you are." She greeted, as if Sarah's dress wasn't ripped and her shoe wasn't missing. "Come on in, I've made muffins."

If Sev's pancakes were legendary, Janice's muffins were god worthy and extremely rare, only made when something very bad had happened. The gang called them comfort muffins. Arturo claimed that Janice usually made them around twice a year, on average. Of course, it varied depending on what happened that year.

"Guess what I learned last night?" Sarah asked, sitting at the table.

"What's that?"

"I learned you were twenty-two years old."

Janice laughed. "Well, I could have told you that if you'd asked!"

"I also learned you do heroin."

Silence greeted that question, and Janice put the muffin in front of her, sitting down. "Let's get this strait. Sev doesn't know, she's to never know. The gang doesn't know, they're to never know. Ace is the only one who has a clue about it, and now you. This is a big secret, not something you can tell anyone and everyone."

"I know."

"No, you don't know. If they find out, my life will be ruined. I will leave the country, and they won't be able to find me again, understand?"

Sarah looked at her in only slight understanding. "Is this that personal thing you mentioned?"

"One of them, yes. Now let's talk about you. You're lucky I'm an early riser, most people aren't out of bed at…five in the morning on a Sunday."

"Thank you for answering the door."

"That's not what I'm complaining about. I'm complaining about the fact you came home with Sev's dress ripped, and looking utterly fucked." Janice sighed bluntly. "And with a hangover, I know you aren't even eighteen yet."

"So? I bet you were drinking at my age."

"I never denied that I was, but I never got drunk, I still don't."

"So I had a few shots too many? Whatever." Sarah replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm practically a grown-up, what does it matter?"

"The fact is, you aren't." Janice replied, putting her hands to her temples, and massaging slightly. "You aren't ready to be in a gang, you're going to end up screwing up your life."

"I don't have a life to go back to."

"Don't we all."

Sev appeared at the door, looking at the muffins on the table. "Who died?"

"No-one."

"Are they because of…this morning?"

"What happened this morning?" Sarah interrupted.

"Somewhat." Janice ignored her, giving a muffin to Sev. "Just don't think about it too hard, just be glad to have the muffin."

Sev took a small bite, then finally noticed Sarah at the table. "Well doesn't she look like a painted whore?"

"Sev!" Janice scolded.

"God, she's just screaming 'Ace fucked me'! She should at least have the decency to change clothing."

Sarah went and changed clothes, then returned to the table to see Sev sitting, and Janice waiting. "Alright, I think it's time to talk now."

The two girls glared at each other from across the table, with Janice in the middle.

"Will you two stop this already? Honestly! Don't make me bring Ace into this! He's at work, and I can't bother him!" she said, exhausted. They'd been at it for almost three hours, leaving the Italian girl sick of the screaming.

"Looks like you'll have to. The blue haired bitch won't back off," Sarah frowned.

"Aw, is the green slut angry?" Sev said in a baby tone. "Poor thing. Her life is so hard. _Putain stupide, pourquoi aurait-il même perdre son temps-"_

"That's it! I'm calling Ace!" Janice declared, storming out of the room towards a phone.

"Good! Maybe he can control his mutt!" Sarah called, and Sev got to her feet.

"What'd you call me slut?" she growled.

"You heard me!"

* * *

**(French: stupid whore, why would he even waste his time-)**

**(End)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did. Janice belongs to me. Sev belongs to TacticianZephine.**

**Warning: Gender Changes (AKA, guy is turned into a girl for the story, vice versa). Future Minor Character Slash (girl/girl, guy/guy). Self Harm, Possible Explicit Violence. Mentioned Buttercup/Ace. Powerpuff Girls are in their teens. Ace, at times, is OOC (out of character)**

**Side Notes: I'd like to thank my dad for letting me use his computer charger, or else this wouldn't have gotten done.)**

* * *

**WARNING: READ PAST CHAPTERS.**

**I rewrote the story, you need to go back and read it over. I've changed some things, and you might be a little confused if you don't. Same base, just different details. Just go back and read it, it's worth it, and the chapters are only about 1000-2000 works each, it won't take long.  
****– 06/05/11**

Ace walked into the building half an hour, joining Janice on the wall. The two girls were still screaming at each other, and he could see his little sister was starting to get affected by it all. She'd loved Sev since her early pre-teens, about the time Sev started to notice him. She'd dealt with it pretty well considering she had to live through Sev crying over him, and chasing him everyday. He ruffled her hair slightly, causing her to look up at him.

"How long have they been at it?" he asked quietly.

"Almost four hours." She replied, just as quiet, turning her head back to the two girls.

"-don't know why we didn't toss you to the sharks when we had the chance!" Sev yelled, implying that she would've revealed Sarah's alter-ago in a heartbeat.

"Sev!" Janice snapped. "Don't go there. We agreed not to tell. Sarah, get your ass back in that chair and stop pretending you could beat up Sev, and shut the hell up." She hissed at her, walking over to the two girls. "I am so sick of hearing the fighting! If you're just going to be like this, I'm going to go hang with the Reds!"

"Who do you think you are, our mother?"

"You know very well I have to be!" she screamed, tears beginning to fall as she stormed out of the apartment, leaving Ace alone with the two arguing females. Finally sick with this whole thing as well, Ace walked over to the two of them.

"Both of you. Need. To. Shut. Up." He growled, more of a command than a statement.

"Stay the fuck out of it!" Sev growled in return. "It doesn't involve you!"

"Well apparently, it does involve me! Someone explain what the fuck is going on!"

"She won't get off my back about making out with you last night!" Sarah explained, slightly calmer than Sev, but still fuming.

"Please, you went a lot farther than that with him." Sev hissed. "And stay out of it, whore."

Sarah finally snapped, getting out of her chair, and slamming Sev into the wall, raising a fist to punch her. Ace moved, and caught it before it hit, moving her away from the red and blue haired punk. "Look Sev, we need to end this. I've never loved you, I don't love you, and I never will love you. I'm not going to steal a girl away from Janice, sorry, but I won't."

Sev looked as if someone had stabbed her in the throat; her eyes grew wide and watered slightly, then, her face twisted into rage. She looked as if she'd go for Sarah, but instead shoved Ace backward into the kitchen counter with a small scream of fury.

Ace changed his direction mid-air, landing on the kitchen floor instead, and jumped back to his feet. He picked up the small girl, tossing her over his shoulder, and walking off towards Janice's bedroom, the only windowless, and able to be locked from the outside room in the entire apartment. He tossed her inside, slamming the door shut, and locking it.

"Janice can let you out when she gets home, I'm going home." He called, then jumped back as the blade of a knife was shoved through the door, an inch away from hitting his head. There was a moment of sweet silence, before scratching and banging sounds started from the other side of the door, accompanied by shrieks and screams of pure unbridled fury.

Ace ignored it, shoving his hands in his pockets, and staring towards the door of the apartment with Sarah. "You need to go home kid, your screwing up the peace in my gang. I like you and all, but my gang is more important to me than anyone is."

Sev shouted something from the room, and the sound of a barking dog started, causing Ace to flinch up. He couldn't even manage a 'damn it' before a large St. Bernard jumped, and pinned him to the floor, snapping and growling at the green skinned man.

Ace pushed him off with great difficulty, and scattered out the door. Janice returned a few hours later, calmed down by a few drinks, and petted the lazy dog by the door. "Go find Sev." She whispered to him, and he got to his feet, padding towards the door of Janice's room.

Janice called her name, slightly worried, and Sev started banging on the door again, screeching "Lemme out! Lemme out! Lemme out!"

Janice searched for a key, and put it in the lock, opening the door for the girl. Her hair was messed up, and her hands were coated in dried and fresh blood. Her knuckles were dripping blood on the floor from banging the door so long, well, that and the fact 'babydoll' was carved into them, a term the gang knew Ace called her. Her face had four long scratches on it, bleeding as well.

"What happened?" Janice asked worryingly, leading her crush to the bathroom. "Gods Sev, what did you do to yourself?" she sighed, putting her on the counter.

"Where the fuck is Ace! I'll kill him!"

"I don't really know, Sev, I haven't spoken to him all day." Janice sighed.

_"Je lui tuerai! Je lui tuerai!"_ she screamed, turning and punching the glass medicine cabinet, shattering it with one fatal hit. _"Je lui tuerai!"_

"I know you'll kill him, but you can kill him after we get these cleaned up." She replied calmly, used to this over the years. "Calm down a bit."

Sev gripped the bathroom counter as Janice cleaned her face first, trying not to hit the raven haired girl, the released them just as long as it took her to clean and bandage her knuckles. "Now, there we go." Janice declared, helping her off of the counter. "I'll be in the living room in a moment, I'll meet you there."

Sev did so, and Janice cleaned up the glass, only getting a little cut on her fingers, then joined her in the living room. "What happened?"

"He chose her over me! The fucking slut over me! He's mine!"

"That explains why my place is destroyed." She sighed. "Did you ever think he wasn't yours?"

The only answer she got was the slamming of the front door as she left, and Janice sighed, going to her room. Maybe a couple of hits of snow would do her good.

Sarah sat in the Gangreen Gang's apartment, looking up at Ace timidly. "What about Sev?"

"What about her? She doesn't own me."

"But, she wants to date you! You're practically hers already!"

"Pfft, Sev's great for sex, but that's about it. I couldn't live with her as a girlfriend."

"So…you pretty much use her. Does that mean you used me too?"

"No, you, I actually care about somewhat. Her, well, you know how Europunks are; sluts."

"So… why do you want me gone?"

"I don't. I need you gone; it has nothing to do with what I want."

Even though she knew she'd see Ace again, as Snake, it hurt. Sarah would never be with him, and she'd have to live as Snake to him. Ace saw Snake as the annoying little brother he never had, and Snake was supposed to see Ace as the boss, not the guy she wanted in bed. She stood to her feet, walking towards the door, and Ace stopped her, grabbing her wrist, and pulling her to him, kissing her.

His kisses were like drugs; heroin, and coke, and weed all thrown into one amazing, deadly mix, and suddenly she understood the addicts, how they craved their drug or drink of choice, how they couldn't stop. The kiss lasted until neither could breathe anymore, and she was sent on her way.

"Stop doing that to me! I can't leave you if you keep doing that!"

"Then don't leave."

"Will you make me up your mind already? One minute you want me, the next you're sending me on my way!"

"I…I don't know. There's just something about you."

"Well, you can have me as soon as you choose, and I mean about everything."

"Everything?"

"Janice told me about her, about Buttercup."

"Oh."

"As soon as you choose me over her, I'll be back. Until then…" she leaned down, kissing him on the cheek. "Bye Ace."

Hearing the door shut quietly, he buried his face in his hands. If he had to give up the Powerpuff, he would, but Sarah would be back, and she'd be his.

* * *

**Notes:**  
**Snow is another word for heroin.**  
**_'Je lui tuerai!'_ means 'I'll kill him!' in french.**  
**Europunk is a style, look it up on Google.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls. I wish I did. Janice belongs to me. Sev belongs to TacticianZephine.**

**Warning: Gender Changes (aka, guy is turned into a girl for the story, vice versa). Future Minor Character Slash (girl/girl, guy/guy). Self Harm, Possible Explicit Violence. Mentioned Buttercup/Ace. Powerpuff Girls are in their teens.**

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"I just talked to Ace. He told me what happened at Janice's," Billy confided in the little Mexican girl.

Arturo sighed. "Sevvi's gonna have issues with this. She's got AvPD. Avoidant Personality Disorder? She doesn't trust people easily, and it took her awhile to trust Ace. Now he's rejected her. And she ain't been to pick up her meds in a week. We should go over and check on-"

"You're not gonna do anything," Ace's voice commanded from the doorway. "Sev's just looking for attention. She's fine. She's a drama queen, ever since her mom died, she's been looking for other people's attention. She got smacked around, sure, but that doesn't mean that she's a victim. If you don't remember, she messed me up pretty bad when we first met, so she's not helpless, and she doesn't have any mental problems other than she's self-centered and anorexic. Just leave her alone, and don't say anything to Janice, you get me?"

"... Yes boss."

Returning home at two a.m, Sev locked the deadbolt on her bedroom door. She dug out a bullet-shaped pocketknife from her underwear drawer and flicked it open in one quick movement. She pulled her sleeve back with her teeth and studied the already-present scars.

'_Where to do this, now?'_ She couldn't risk it being noticed.

She pushed her sleeve down and pulled her shirt up to study her stomach.

Ah, to hell with it. She wanted a little more decoration. And she had a tattoo to remove (or at least, disfigure) the hard way.

Janice appeared in the doorway of the apartment, kicking off her heels and shrugging off her jacket. "I wonder if Sev's home yet..." she sighed to herself, shutting the door, and walking towards the living room. She noticed a locked door, and sniffed, smelling a very copper-like scent; blood.

She dug through her purse, pulling out a credit card and unlocking the deadbolt. "Sevvi?" she called, then noticed the young, sleeping woman on the bed, covered in blood. She went to the bathroom, pulling out the first aid kit, then returning, fixing Sev up with careful ease.

"What am I going to do with you Sev..." she sighed, picking the girl up, causing the punk to flail her arms. "Shh… you can go back to sleep, Sevvi. I've got you. You can sleep in my room until I wash your sheets," she informed quietly, walking towards the baby blue room Janice lived in.

She laid her down, and watched the girl settle in, before kissing her forehead. '_I'm sorry he did this to you Sev, but maybe it's time to get over it_,' she thought sadly. '_It's been a month.'_

However, she knew she couldn't force her to get over Ace, and maybe time was the punk's best option, even if it seemed like her worst one.

The next night, Sev wandered in, dead drunk after flipping out at something or other, most likely Ace. Janice noticed her, her temper slowly becoming more and more noticeable. This was happening at least twice a week now, and she knew if Sev didn't stop soon, she herself would have to stop her. She was so sick of having to deal with this.

_'Calm down Janice, just help her to bed, then get back to your book'_, she told herself weakly, not even believing it herself. If Sev needed help to get to sleep, she'd end up staying until the girl stopped crying.

"Come on Sev. Let's get you to bed," she told her, giving her a smile, without any trace of bitterness or anger. She knew that wasn't what Sev needed right now.

"Not a bad idea, gorgeous," the redhead slurred, draping herself on the girl, causing Janice to raise an eyebrow.

"You're drunk out of your mind." She sighed, taking Sev by the waist, and leading her towards one of the bedrooms, she honestly didn't care at this point.

"Don't say it like it's a bad thing..." Sev pouted.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it; you can make it up to me by letting me fuck you senseless," Sev slurred, reminding Janice she was extremely drunk, probably off gin and Suicides.

"You should get some sleep." she chuckled, sitting her on the bed, and walking over to the dresser. "Can you dress yourself?"

"Nope, come do it for me, baby." Sev dared, still slurring.

Janice sighed, retrieving some clothing, and moving to take off Sev's shirt. The skinny jeans came next, and she was about to grab the pair of clothes. Somehow, in her drunken stupor, Sev flipped the girl, obviously having other ideas.

"Sevvi, get off!" she moaned softly, as the underwear clad girl started to undo her shirt, kissing down her neck. Said girl looked up at her innocently, kissed her roughly, moved a hand inside of Janice's bra, and drove any thought of being responsible out of her head.

* * *

Meanwhile, across town, Sarah was back at the Gang's apartment, Snake once more. For some reason, Ace was harsher than usual, to the point of making Billy cry and Arturo curse him out in Spanish.

"What's up with you?" she sighed, leaning against the door.

"Nothing, leave me alone, Snake."

"Well, something's obviously up. You're taking this out on everyone, hell, you're scaring Billy and upsetting your gang. What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Ace growled, slamming the bottle of gin down onto the table, causing the glass to tip over, spilling the dark red liquid on the table.

"Well maybe you should figure it out!" she returned. "Until then, maybe you should take a break. Let Arturo handle what you obviously can't."

The man stormed out, breaking the bottle on his way, and left Sarah to clean up the mess. Arturo watched from the doorway, looking her over. "I don't know Snake, but you aren't very guyish, are you?"

"… What do you mean?"

"I know this is personal and all… but… you've been with us for close to three months. I haven't seen you even glance at the gang's more slutty members, or even show interest in anything…"

"Go on," Sarah replied slowly, fearing the worst.

"Are you gay?"

She was so relieved at the question, she burst into laughter, causing the young Spanish girl to blush red. "You didn't answer me."

"I guess I am, in a way," she replied, still amused.

"So I could hook you up with my gay friend?"

"That's probably not the best idea," she replied with a slight smile. "I don't do dating. I'd rather just be here in case Janice or Ace needs me."

"You can't tell me you aren't craving a girl… or a guy. You're male, that's your job in life."

"… Yeah, I'm not actually. Could you just leave me alone a bit? I need some time to think."

"'Course, you want me to take the boys out?"

"… Yeah."

As she spent an hour getting gin out of the carpet, she had time to think. Life was so much more than she thought it was when she left her home. People fell in love, and it didn't always end in happiness, as was apparent with Janice and Sev. Not every gang was cold-hearted and cruel, some formed to become a family, to protect each other from the world, like the Red Riots and the Gangreen.

_And now I'm one of them… and even though Ace hates Snake, he loved me when I was me_, she thought quietly. _And maybe one day, I can become me again, and maybe we'll get a happy ending. Until then, and maybe even after, this gang is my family._

* * *

**(Fin, yay)**


End file.
